Development of the muscles and co ordination in the movements, of the fingers, hands, wrists, and arms is useful for many purposes. A person may wish to simply develop muscles and skills in the arms, for a variety of reasons. A person with some impairment or handicap may wish to revive and restore such muscles and skills to a former level. In particular, in the use of drumsticks, the device is helpful in the development of particular skills and muscle groups. It is common to hold the drumstick between the thumb and fingers of each hand, with the rear end of the drumstick loosely positioned underneath the palm of the hand. The thumb is uppermost and the forefinger is beneath the stick acting as a pivot point. The remaining fingers are curled beneath the free or rear end of the stick. Drum strokes are usually achieved by flexing the fingers against the free end of the drumstick. This causes the drumstick to pivot about the thumb and fore finger holding the drumstick. The drumstick head thus swings down and up. This enables a player to play a variety of different strokes, both hard and soft, and rapid and slow in an advantageous manner. Drumsticks are also used in other holding positions, somewhat more like chopsticks. In these positions the action of the drumstick is achieved usually by a rapid wrist movement.
The development of skills, and muscle tone to achieve these various movements is one of the objectives of drum players. Experienced and skilled drum players will usually wish to warm up their hands and wrists, before starting to play.
This of course can be done with conventional drumsticks. However, unless the drumsticks are used to actually strike the drum head, the action of simply swinging the drumsticks freely in the air will not produce the same development. For this reason, some drum players employ a special form of muffle for muffling the drum heads during the practice or exercise session. However these muffle devices are not entirely satisfactory. They alter the touch of the drumstick on the drum head, and they do not entirely prevent the sound of the drum practice.
For all of these reasons it is desirable to provide an exercise device for a drum player to use when practicing the various drum action movements. This exercise device will enable the player to practise various strokes repeatedly, without the use of drums at all. This will prevent any noise. It will also enable the player to exercise and practise wherever he wishes, at a moments notice.
The exercise device has many applications outside the field of drumming. Exercises for the fingers, hands, wrists, and arms are useful in a wide variety of situations and conditions.